Video and Podcast Resources on Thomas Aquinas' Summa Theologiae

24 lectures on a great Medieval thinker's work

One thinker whose works I’ve taught in many of my classes over the last several decades is the great 13th century Dominican, Thomas Aquinas. Most often, I’m using some small portions of the voluminous (and at his death, not completed) masterwork Summa Theologiae.

As with the other authors who I introduce my students to, I like to produce core concept videos that lead them into key ideas, arguments, and distinctions found in their work. For a number of years, I’ve recorded sets of those videos on certain topics particularly important for my classes. So far those have included Thomas’ discussions of:

• whether God’s existence can be demonstrated

• the nature of human happiness

• the human emotion of anger

• the types of law

At this point, I probably ought to have produced more videos, quite frankly, given the vast number of topics covered in the Summa Theologiae. Perhaps I’ll start remedying that down the line! But for now, these are what I have available. On the other hand, I have also converted them into podcast versions of the lectures, so that’s a plus.

Here’s what I have available at this point:

Summa Theologiae, Prima Pars, question 2

• Is God's Existence Self-Evident? | watch video | listen to podcast

• Can God's Existence Be Demonstrated? | watch video | listen to podcast

• Five Ways for Proving God's Existence | watch video | listen to podcast

• The 1st Way to Prove God's Existence | watch video | listen to podcast

• The 2nd Way to Prove God's Existence | watch video | listen to podcast

• The 3rd Way to Prove God's Existence | watch video | listen to podcast

• The 4th Way to Prove God's Existence | watch video | listen to podcast

• The 5th Way to Prove God's Existence | watch video | listen to podcast

Summa Theologiae, Prima Secundae Partis, question 2

• Wealth and Human Happiness | watch video | listen to podcast

• Honor, Fame, Power, and Happiness | watch video | listen to podcast

• Pleasure and Human Happiness | watch video | listen to podcast

• Goods of Body or Soul and Happiness | watch video | listen to podcast

• Can Any Created Good Be Happiness? | watch video | listen to podcast

Summa Theologiae, Prima Secundae Partis, question 46

• Anger As Specific Or General Emotion | watch video | listen to podcast

• Goodness, Badness, and Anger | watch video | listen to podcast

• Anger, Desire, and Naturalness | watch video | listen to podcast

• Anger and Reason | watch video | listen to podcast

• Anger's and Justice's Objects | watch video | listen to podcast

• Anger, Hatred, and Seriousness | watch video | listen to podcast

• Three Types of Anger | watch video | listen to podcast

Summa Theologiae, Prima Secundae Partis, questions 90-91 and 94

• Eternal, Natural, and Human Law | watch video | listen to podcast

• Precepts of the Natural Law | watch video | listen to podcast

• Divine Law as Complement to Natural Law | watch video | listen to podcast

• Natural Law, "Fomes," and Animality | watch video | listen to podcast

So there they are! 22 lectures in video and podcast form on portions of Thomas Aquinas’ Summa Theologiae that you can watch, listen to, or download to learn more about thing great thinker and his ideas.